In the folklore of Northumbria, the Sockburn Worm was a ferocious wyvern that laid waste to the village of Sockburn in Durham. It was said that the beast was finally slain by John Conyers. The tale is said to be the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky which he wrote while in Croft-on-Tees and Whitburn. [1]
The tale of the worm may be inspired by the longships of marauding Vikings, who carved the heads of Worms (Ormr) on the bow; [2] however, this does not take into account the commonness of dragons in Germanic folklore including that of Northumbria (see the Laidly and Lambton Worms as well as the Worm of Linton).
Each newly consecrated Bishop-Prince of Durham, while entering the Bishopric for the first time at the local Ford or over the bridge over the River Tees at Croft-on-Tees, was presented with the falchion that John Conyers used on the worm. The Lord of Sockburn traditionally reads a speech while presenting the blade:
"My Lord Bishop. I hereby present you with the falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery flying serpent which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by this tenure, that upon the first entrance of every bishop into the county the falchion should be presented."
The bishop would then take the falchion, and immediately return it, wishing the holder health and long enjoyment of the manor. [3]
The Sockburn Worm, with the falchion embedded in it, appears on the district badge of the local Darlington & District Scout Association.
The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.
Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It is in Teesdale with a town centre on a small meander of the River Tees. To the south-east, it extends to the River Leven, to the south it extends into the Kirklevington.
County Durham, officially simply Durham (/ˈdʌrəm/), is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington.
The Lambton Worm is a legend from County Durham in North-East England in the United Kingdom. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from written and oral tradition into pantomime and song formats.
Sockburn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Neasham, in the Darlington district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated at the apex of a meander of the River Tees, to the south of Darlington, known locally as the Sockburn Peninsula. Today, all that remains of the village is an early nineteenth-century mansion, a ruined church and a farmhouse built in the late eighteenth century.
Sadberge is a village in County Durham, England, situated between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees. It is administered as part of the borough of Darlington.
The County Palatine of Durham was a jurisdiction in the North of England, within which the bishop of Durham had rights usually exclusive to the monarch. It developed from the Liberty of Durham, which emerged in the Anglo-Saxon period. The gradual acquisition of powers by the bishops led to Durham being recognised as a palatinate by the late thirteenth century, one of several such counties in England during the Middle Ages. The county palatine had its own government and institutions, which broadly mirrored those of the monarch and included several judicial courts. From the sixteenth century the palatine rights of the bishops were gradually reduced, and were finally abolished in 1836. The last palatine institution to survive was the court of chancery, which was abolished in 1972.
Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies 11 miles (18 km) north-north west of the county town of Northallerton.
The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamborough, is a Northumbrian ballad about a princess who is changed into a dragon.
Girsby is a village and civil parish in the former Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. The village lies on high ground on the eastern bank of the River Tees. The population of the parish was estimated at 40 in 2015. The population as of the 2011 census remained less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Over Dinsdale.
United Automobile Services was a bus company, which operated local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne & Wear, England. It provided bus services across a wide geographical area, stretching from the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north, Filey in the south, and Carlisle in the west.
This is a list of the high sheriffs of County Durham, England.
The baronetcy of Conyers of Horden was created in the Baronetage of England on 14 July 1628 for John Conyers of Horden, County Durham.
Sockburn Hall is a privately owned 19th-century country house at Sockburn, near Darlington, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. As at 2008, both the Hall and adjoining Grade II coach house were listed by English Heritage on the Buildings at Risk Register, as was the adjacent ruined Grade I Church of All Saints.
Scouting in North East England refers to Scouting in the official region of North East England. It is largely represented by the Scout Association of the United Kingdom and some groups of traditional Scouting, including the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.
Worms have played major roles in world mythology and its associated literatures. The word was often used to describe creatures now classified as snakes, lindworms, serpents and dragons. Its symbolic meaning is divided between death and renewal.
The Church of St Peter, Croft-on-Tees is a 12th century grade I listed parish church in the village of Croft-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. Artefacts and carvings inside the church are believed to have given rise to many of the characters created by Lewis Carroll, who as a child, attended St Peter's in the 1840s when his father was rector of the church.
Northumbria, in modern contexts, usually refers to the region of England between the Tees and Tweed, including the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham, but it may also be taken to be synonymous with North East England. The area corresponds to the rump lands of the historical Kingdom of Northumbria, which later developed into the late medieval county of Northumberland or Comitatus Northumbriae, whose original southern boundary was the River Tees. A provincial flag of Northumbria has been registered.
Croft Bridge is a road bridge over the River Tees, straddling the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham, in the north of England. The road over the bridge is now the A167, previously a second branch of the Great North Road, meeting the old road in Darlington. The bridge dates back to Medieval times, and is the setting for the awarding of a sword to the incoming Bishop of Durham.
Croft Viaduct is a railway bridge carrying the East Coast Main Line between Northallerton and Darlington in Northern England. The viaduct crosses the River Tees, the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham. Although it was an early example of a stone viaduct in the railway system, it is not the first true railway viaduct, however, it was the first railway viaduct in the United Kingdom to have been built with an oblique arch. It was grade II listed in 1988, and had overhead line equipment installed in the early 1990s.